Match-box.



No. 723,798.. I "PATENTED' MAR.,24,11903.

W. 1T. WILSON.

MATCH BOX.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 17, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

WITNESSES.

- INVENTOR.

m: uonels FEYERS co. punraumc; wuumcqgiijp. 'c.

NITED STATES" FFICE.

PATENT MATCH-BOX- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 723,798, dated March 24, 1903.

li mlication filed April 17,1902 SerialNo.103,Z74. (No model.) i

To all whom it ntay concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM '1. WILsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ansonia, county of New Haveg, State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Match-Box, of which the following is a specific'ation.

My invention has for its object to provide a match-box adapted for general use, and especially adapted for use in the wind and by persons while driving or riding horseback or on a bicycle, as it may be conveniently operated by either hand alone and will protect the match after it has been ignited, my novel match-box being adapted to carry any ordinary size or style of match and so constructed that but one match can be ignited at a time, ignition shall be practically sure, even in the wind or rain, and practically the entire match can be consumed without danger of burning the fingers or igniting the other matches.'

With these ends in view I have devised the simple and novel match-box which I will now describe, referring to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and using reference characters to designate the several parts.

Figure 1 is an elevation of my novel matchbox, illustrating the mode of use; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section corresponding therewith; Fig. 3, a longitudinal section showing the inner case or match-box proper partly drawn out, as in igniting or when lighting a cigarin the wind; Fig. 4, a section on'the line 4 4 in Fig. 2, showing the carrier in the open or receiving position; and Fig. 5 is asimilar view showing the carrier in the closed position.

10 denotes the inner case or box proper, 11 the outer case or shell, and 12 the carrier, which is semicylindrical in form and is adapted when in-the open or receiving position to lie within a semicylindrical guard 13, which is rigidly secured in the box and extends the entire length thereof. The box and the shell are shown as substantially elliptical in form, although this form is not essential, and the open side of the guard lies parallel with the greater diameter of thebox. At the inner end of the box is a head 14, having an opening 15, through which the pronged head 16 of the carrier projects slightly, as clearly shown in the drawings. At the other end of the box .the carrier is oscillated in use.

is a hinged lid 17 to permit the insertion-of matches, which are of course placed in the box with their heads toward the head of the carrier. Below the lid is a neck 18. The semicylindrical carrier extends the entire length of the box and the neck. The head 16 at the inner end thereof comprises a plurality of inwardly-turned spring-prongs 19, which act to ignite the match when the head is forced therethrough, as will presently be described, and which grip the shank of the match and hold. it in place while it is being used. At theother end of the carrier is a shank 20, which, lies in the neck and is provided with a groove 21 and a manipulatinghead 22, lying outside of the neck, by which The carrier is shown as retained in position in the box by means of a ring 23, the ends of which pass throughholes 24 in. the neck and engage groove 21 in' shank-20. Achain 25, provided with a hook 26, may be attached to the ring for use in riding or driving, as willbe more fully explained. The shell may be provided with small perforations 27 to provide air to support combustion when a lighted match is withdrawn within the shell, as in Fig. 3. One end of the shell, which for convenienceI will term the upper end, is open, as at 28. The other end, which for convenience I will term the lower end, is provided with an inwardly-turned flange 29, and the inner end of the box is provided with a corresponding outwardly-turned flange 30. These two flanges may serve as astop to prevent the box from being withdrawn from the shell. In practice I preferably provide a spring 31, lying between the flanges and inclosing the box, which will act to return the box within the shell after the box has been withdrawn from the shell in lighting a match, as will be more fully explained. The deviceis equally operative without the spring; but the spring adds to its convenience in use and insures that the box will remain drawn into the'shell when not in use.

32 denotes a slot in the box contiguous to the open side of the guard, which extends from the outer end of the neck nearly to the other end of the box. This slot receives a shank 33, which carries a match-ejecting head the carrier, as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the shank being rigidly secured to the shell at what I have termed the lower end thereof.

In assembling, the spring is placed upon the box. Then the box with the spring thereon is passed in at the open end of the shell, shank passing into slot 32 in neck 18 and match-ejecting head 3% passing within the guard. Thecarrier is then inserted, the head 16 of the carrier being passed into the neck and head 3- lying Within the carrier. hen manipulatinghead 22 upon the shank of the carrier is in engagement with the neck, the parts are retained in position by springing the ends of the ring through holes 24 in the neck and into engagement with groove 21 in the shank 20 of the carrier, whereby the carrier is securely retained in position, but left free to oscillate, its oscillation in either direction being determined by the engagement of the edge of the carrier with one side or the other of shank Lips 35 at the upperend of the shell maybe turned inwardslightly afterassembling to form a stop to limit. the movement of the box when drawn in ward by the spring.

The operation in use is as follows: When it is desired to light a match with one hand, hook 26 is firmly attached to some portion of the clothing or to any article that will stand su t'ficient pull to light a match. Matches may be inserted in the box by drawing it out slightly and opening the lid, the matches being passed into the box with the heads toward the upper end thereof. When it is desired to light a match, the receiver being in the closed position and containing a match, the operator simply draws the shell outward over the box against the power of the spring, if used. If both hands are used, the operator holds the shell in one hand and manipulating-head 22 in the other. If he uses but one hand, the hook on the chain being firmly attached to anything that will stand the pull, he draws the shell outward, the box being held back by the chain and hook. When the shell and the box are drawn apart-that is, the box is drawn out of the shell or the shell over the boxthe butt of the match in the carrier will be brought into contact with the head 34 within the carrier, and as the box is drawn out the head of the match will be forced through the spring-prongs 19, which form the head of the carrier, and will be ignited thereby. If the pull is relieved, the spring will draw the box back into the shell, and the match will project, as in Fig. 1, the butt of the match being gripped by the prongs of head 16. If it is'desired to protect the flame tinguishing the flame.

has been lighted or the lighted match has performed any function that may be required of it the box is allowed to pass back into the shell, as in Fig. 1, and the stump of the match may be drawn out and thrown away. Suppose now that the carrier is in the closed position, as in Fig. 3, but there is no match in it. The operator, holding the device substantially in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, by means of manipulating-head 22 turns the carrier away from him until the movementis stopped by the engagement of the other edge of the carrier with shank 33. This places the carrierin the open position, as in Fig. 2. The operator then shakes the box or rolls it to cause a match to pass into the carrier. A backward turn of the carrier then closes it. The carrier is made amply large to receive any ordinary match, no matter how large or irregular the shape of the head may be, and is small enough to insure its receiving only one match. In order, however, to prevent the possibility of inferference of matches in closing the carrier, it is best after the carrier has been opened and a match has dropped into it to give the box a half-turn, so as to place the carrier at the top instead of at the bottom of the box, as in the drawings, and turn the carrier to the closed position while the box is held with the carrier at the top.

It will of course be obvious that the operation of getting a match into the carrier and lighting it may be performed in very much less time titan it takes to describe it.

I claim- 1. A match-box comprising a shell having at one end an inwardly-extending shank carrying a match-ejecting head, a box adapted to slide within the shell and having a slot through which the shank passes, and an OS- cillating carrier which receives the matchejecting head freely and. is provided with a pronged head through which a match is forced to ignite it by the engagement of the butt of the match with the match-ejecting head when the box is drawn outward.

2. A match-box comprising a shell having at one end an inwardly-extending shank carrying a match-ejecting head, a box adapted to slide within the shell and having a slot through which the shank passes, a guard fixed within the box and an oscillating carrier Within the guard which receives the match-ejecting head freely and is provided with a pronged head through which a match is forced to ignite it by engagement of the butt of the match with the match-ejecting head when the box is drawn outward.

8. A match-box comprising a shell having at one end an inwardly-extending shank carrying a match-ejecting head, a box adapted to slide within the shell and having a slot through which the shank passes and at its inner end an opening, a semicylindrical guard fixed within the box and an oscillating semicylindrical carrier within the guard which receives the match-ejecting head freely and can ries a pronged head extending through the opening by whicha match is ignited when forced therethrough by the engagement of its rying a match-ejecting head and an inwardly-- turned flange, a box adapted to slide within the shell and having a slot through which the shank passes and at its inner end an outwardly-turned flange, an oscillating carrier which receives the match-ejecting head freely and carries a pronged head by which a match is ignited when forced therethrongh by the engagement of its butt with the match-ejecting head and a spring inclosing the box and bearing against the flanges by which the box is drawn within the shell when released.

5. A match-box comprising a shell having at one end an inwardly-extending shank carrying a match-ejecting head, a box adapted to slide within the shell and having a slot through which the shank passes, an oscillating carrier within the box which receives the match-ejecting head freely and is provided with a pronged head through which matches are forced to ignite them by engagement of their butts with the match-ejecting head when the box is drawn outward, a spring by which the box'is returned within the shell when released and a chain connected to the box and having a hook for attachment so that the'box' may be manipulated to ignite a match by'u'singone hand only. I

6. A match-box comprising a shell having at one end an inwardly-extending shankcar rying amatch-ejecting head, a box adapted to slide within the shell and having a slot through which the shank" passes and a neck,- and an oscillating carrier which receives the match-ejecting head freely and is provided with a pronged head for the purpose set forth, a shank extending through the neckand a manipulating-head outside of the neck.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM T. WILSON.- Witnesses:

THOMAS HORUN, MATHEW 'BROADBENT. 

